Frustrated teachers and parents have staged a mass rally, protesting the decision to relocate Gosford Public school to within the grounds of Henry Kendall High.
Chanting slogans and waving signs, they argued the primary students will suffer if the move goes ahead.
A disgraceful decision by former State Labor Ministers approved by Liberals Chris Holstein (local Member), Adrian Piccoli (Education Minister), as pushed by Central Coast DEC Reps. Maree Roberts and David Cullen that all do not possess any vision or commitment to future population growth of Primary or High School students in the City of Gosford as projected by GOSFORD CHALLENGE. What an absolute disaster for PUBLIC EDUCATION. ‘Most likely’, all these people above have their children in private schools.
Get ready all PUBLIC schools in Australia to see a push for Primary Schools into High Schools.
The above people listed should ALL HOLD THEIR HEADS IN SHAME!
Shame! They are ruin the life and future of kids
The Gosford Challenge was supposed to be a collaboration of State and Federal Governments , Local Council and Private investment . Yet here we are with the NSW DEC bailing on the process by delivering what is an absolute disgrace ,
Breaching their own guidelines for building new schools 3 hectares for Primary Schools and 4 hectares for Secondary Schools they are cramming two schools onto not mcuh more than 4 heactares . And just across the road is the 3 heactare School Ag Frame where a handful of chickens goats and sheep will enjoy more personal space than the students .
What is the point of having 4 local MP”S in state government and 1 local MP in Federal Government if this is the outcome of all that collaboration .
Shame on Chris Holstein for ratifying and supporting this decision . Shame on the political silence . Why are yoi haggling over 5 or 10million dollars to build a school worthy of the Gosford Challenge . Shame Shame Shame .
3 other sites were available to build a new primary school . All bigger . The relocation into the High School is about saving money . If DEC don’t build on any of the other sites it owns around Gosford then it retains 3 saleable assets . This plan is not about building the best school , it is about DEC not building a new school on land bought with taxpayers money for that express purpose .
With 10000 projected ne residents according to Chris Holstein neither of these schools will even have space for demountables in the future . Oh thats right then they will put demountables on the Ag Farm .
What a disgrace !
It is such a shame that when this story gets aired issues such as swearing seem to take centre stage . Whilst important it sort takes a more trivial precedence over the much bigger issues such as just how the whole process has been conducted .
What doesn’t ever seem to get much coverage is just the fact that an existing school , which the previous Education Minister had said would not have been moved or sold were it not for the waterfront development , no educational reason to do so , but is now caught up in the much wider program of school closures and mergers that have been happening for some time in NSW .
In the end Gosford Public will go from being one of the smallest school sites to joining Henry Kendall on one of the smallest sites on the Central Coast .
On th one hand the school was told to move because it was to small , and yet when it is moved , it will end up with maybe and extra 200 sq mtr on site that is still one of the smallest with the added bonuses of exposure to the High School lifestyle .
A very poor decision made by people who have an agenda that most definitley is not about the kids in the end . BUT THIS IS SOMETHING A LOT OF SCHOOL COMMUNITIES CAN EXPECT , GOSFORD PUBLIC THIS WEEK . MAYBE YOUR SCHOOL NEXT WEEK .